6x05 – Nine Lives
Garden
Liz: Oh, crap.
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Rob Brewer's house: front door
Liz: Rob? It's Liz from next door.
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Rob Brewer's house: garage
Liz: Hello? Rob?
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NCIS: Squad room
Ziva David: [Speaking Hebrew]
Anthony DiNozzo: I don't speak Hebrew, but I'm pretty sure you just swore. What happened? Your Men of Mossad calendar get lost in the mail? Women of Mossad calendar get lost in the mail?
Ziva David: If you must know, it was an airline reservation that got lost.
Timothy McGee: So going to Israel, huh?
Ziva David: Not if I cannot get a seat on the flight I want... What?
Anthony DiNozzo: Is it a what... Or a who?
Ziva David: Now you're speaking in a language that I do not understand.
Anthony DiNozzo: Weren't you just in Israel?
Ziva David: So? What is it that is bothering you so much, Tony?
Anthony DiNozzo: Do I look troubled?
Timothy McGee: As a matter of fact...
Ziva David: Are you getting so hot and bothersome because, um, you think I may be having a little fun?
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Yeah. Gibbs.
Ziva David: As you know, people go on vacations all the time.
Anthony DiNozzo: Normal people.
Ziva David: I am normal people.
Anthony DiNozzo: You're normal people like the people from Ordinary People are normal people.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Grab your gear. Dead Marine... Well, DiNozzo, she got the bothersome part right.
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Rob Brewer's house: garage
Anthony DiNozzo: Oh, my.
Timothy McGee: She's not evidence, Tony.
Anthony DiNozzo: Just capturing the scene of the crime, probie. Poor girl does seem very upset.
James Palmer: Catch or cut? Go ahead. Cut it.
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Rob Brewer's house: garden
Ziva David: Glad the poor girl's not my neighbor. Just walking in, helping herself.
Anthony DiNozzo: That's because you're a woman, who's on her way to Tel Aviv. If you were a man... Well, let's just say I can understand why the Lance Corporal was so generous with his... Tools.
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Rob Brewer's house: garage
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Background, DiNozzo?
Anthony DiNozzo: Liz Adler. 28 years old, recently divorced...
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: The victim.
Anthony DiNozzo: Sorry. Uh, that's Lance Corporal Rob Brewer. I thought you meant...
Ziva David: Stationed at Quantico, scheduled to go to Iraq in a few days, has already served two tours there.
Anthony DiNozzo: Lived alone. According to Liz, the... Next-door neighbor, uh, said that the house belonged to his parents, and Brewer moved in a year ago.
Ziva David: Nothing apparently missing from the house. No evidence of a break-in.
Donald Mallard: Safe to say he died of exsanguination.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Bled to death.
Donald Mallard: Four to six hours ago. Somebody wanted to make this poor fellow suffer.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Or talk.
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NCIS: Abby's lab
Abigael Scuito: Never seen anything like it before.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Rope?
Abigael Scuito: Not the rope. It's what's on the rope. The mold, Gibbs. The mold is fascinating. Did you know there's over 100,000 species of mold, which is why it's not very surprising that I haven't matched it yet. See these little conidiophores? That means that the mold is in the sexual phase of reproduction. In a few days, these little appendages will sprout out from the center, and then... Well, then we all know what happens next.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Are you enjoying yourself, Abs?
Abigael Scuito: Yes... But you're not. Sorry... I did better with the fingerprints. Most of them were Brewer's. The bloody ones were from the next-door neighbor that found the body... But on the toolbox, mother lode. Fingerprints belonging to Brewer's old squad leader, retired Marine Sergeant Jack Kale. Guess how long he's been retired? That's right three weeks. Guess why he retired... Not in a guessing mood. Okay. When he got back from his last tour of duty, Sergeant Kale was diagnosed with hypereosinophilic syndrome, or HES. It's a blood disease, Gibbs. That's why he retired from the Marine Corps. He had a bad reaction to the medication, and he got psychotic and aggressive. I sent the info to McGee.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Thanks, Abs... You can go back to your mold now.
Abigael Scuito: Ah, Gibbs. You say the sweetest things.
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NCIS: Squad room
Timothy McGee: Mepolizumab... Yep. It's spelled like it sounds. Can you check your other store?
Ziva David: Spoke with Kale's company commander. Says Kale had a reputation as volatile, tough on his men.
Anthony DiNozzo: Probably even tougher on his meds.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Where is he?
Anthony DiNozzo: That's a good question, boss. He booked himself into the Freemont Inn near the base three weeks ago, right after he was discharged. He stayed there six days, and then he was gone.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Credit cards?
Anthony DiNozzo: Hasn't used them since. No forwarding address, no calls from his cell. Got something, boss. Kale's illness.
Timothy McGee: Well, I don't have Kale's illness, but Kale does, and he is taking a trial medication to get rid of it; it's called mepolizumab. It's classified as an orphan drug, which is an FDA distinction. It's basically created to encourage the development... Point is it's new. There's only three people in the DC area taking part in the trial.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Manufacturer.
Timothy McGee: Manufacturer ships it directly to the users each week. Just sent me a patient list. And look at that, here it is. Jack Kale. 2388 Montague.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: DiNozzo, you're with me.
Anthony DiNozzo: On your six, boss.
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2388 Montague: alley
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: No car.
Anthony DiNozzo: Probably out on his daily torture run... Two men, one armed.
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2388 Montague: entrance
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: NCIS! Freeze!
Jack Kale: Easy, easy.
Tobias Fornell: Gibbs... What the hell are you doing?
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2388 Montague: living room
Anthony DiNozzo: There you go.
Bruce River: There's gonna be payback.
Anthony DiNozzo: Sure. You lost a fight with a door. I wouldn't try to get back at Gibbs. Don't forget to ice that.
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2388 Montague: kitchen
Tobias Fornell: Because... He's a key witness, the key witness in a murder trial starts tomorrow.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Still got to talk to him.
Tobias Fornell: Why?
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Marine from his unit was murdered.
Tobias Fornell: Kale a suspect?
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: I'll know after I talk to him.
Tobias Fornell: When'd it happen?
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Early this morning.
Tobias Fornell: Well, you got the wrong guy. Kale's been locked up with us for two weeks; couldn't have done it.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Then it won't hurt to ask why his prints were at the crime scene.
Tobias Fornell: Defense lawyers find out Kale's being investigated, he'll be discredited.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Marine was tortured, Tobias. Kale might be able to help us find out who did it.
Tobias Fornell: Nothing official. No tapes, no notes. And it happens right here, right now, in front of me.
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2388 Montague: living room
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Tough on a Marine, huh? Being cooped up like this.
Jack Kale: Yes, sir... I've already told Agent Fornell everything... What do you want to know?
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: How your fingerprints got on Lance Corporal Brewer's toolbox.
Jack Kale: My toolbox... He's my friend. I let him borrow it. Why? What's going on?
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Brewer's dead, murdered.
Jack Kale: No. Can't be.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Those tools, your tools, used to torture him.
Jack Kale: Who?
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: You tell me.
Jack Kale: I have... I have no idea.
Tobias Fornell: All right, Agent Gibbs. Interview's over.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: What interview, Tobias?
Tobias Fornell: Hey, good luck with your investigation.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Who are you prosecuting anyway? You never said.
Tobias Fornell: No. No, I didn't.
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2388 Montague: alley
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: We get back, want you to find out about the case Fornell's working on.
Anthony DiNozzo: Think he's hiding something?
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: I think they both are.
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NCIS: Squad room
Timothy McGee: FBI sure has their finger in a lot of pies. Terrorism, drugs, organized crime...
Anthony DiNozzo: Uh, Alec, what are crimes that land people in jail?
Timothy McGee: No, the question is What are cases in court tomorrow involving an FBI agent by the name of Tobs Fornell?
Anthony DiNozzo: Uh, what is...
Timothy McGee: US vs.Captain Melville's Fish and Tackle?
Ziva David: You are right. The FBI does have many fingers in many pies.
Anthony DiNozzo: Captain Melville. Wait a second. Moby Dick. Sounds fishy; it's got to be a pseudonym.
Ziva David: Pseudonym. Explain.
Timothy McGee: Well, sometimes the FBI will use a phony name on a case if they're trying to hide the identities of people they're prosecuting.
Ziva David: And Fornell gave us nothing?
Anthony DiNozzo: Well, wasn't in a giving mood. Though he was generous enough to give Kale an alibi.
Timothy McGee: You think Fornell would lie to Gibbs?
Ziva David: If he felt he must.
Anthony DiNozzo: Says the woman who's being "evasive" to her friends about her "vacation" to Israel.
Ziva David: I am intrigued by how intrigued you are by this, Tony.
Anthony DiNozzo: And I am curious that you are curious that I am intrigued. What's his name?
Ziva David: I do not believe I said I was actually seeing anyone. Although it would be very difficult to go to Israel and not see anyone at all. It is quite populated, you know.
Anthony DiNozzo: Oh, that's cute. I don't see why you're having trouble admitting this. You know, you were in Israel for four months. Plenty of time to hook up with someone.
Timothy McGee: In that amount of time, Tony would've hooked up with several someones.
Ziva David: What is it you really want to know, Tony?
Anthony DiNozzo: Depends, Ziva.
Ziva David: On?
Anthony DiNozzo: On what it is you don't want me to know.
Timothy McGee: Sorry to interrupt you guys, but I just got into the FBI's true name file. And look who is listed with Captain Melville's Fish & Tackle. None other than Rick Azari.
Anthony DiNozzo: Fornell's big fish.
Ziva David: No wonder he's keeping his cards so close to his breasts.
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NCIS: Autopsy room
Donald Mallard: Torture as a device to bring about a confession has been around since, well, before the Middle Ages. Back then it was considered a necessary part of the judicial process.
James Palmer: Maybe that's how lawyers started to get a bad reputation.
Donald Mallard: Perhaps. But it's a nasty business, especially for the lower classes. A commoner for example, was considered constitutionally incapable of honesty in court unless he or she were tortured.
James Palmer: Doesn't seem like a very reliable method for getting at the truth.
Donald Mallard: Quite right, but, as you can see, the process persists to this day. I had a very funny brush with torture once in Edinburgh. I performed an autopsy on a fellow whose torturer had taken his entrails, mixed them with oatmeal, and made himself a haggis.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: You done?
Donald Mallard: Uh, yeah, well, I, uh... I now know how Lance Corporal Brewer spent his last hour. Ragged cuts to his hands and forearms. Probably using this half-inch chisel.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Defensive wounds.
Donald Mallard: He fought hard to get away. Notice, however, the pattern of these cuts. Precise. Methodical. The slashing designed to inflict the maximum pain, but not death. At first, I thought it was the X-Acto knife... I now know it was the trusty box cutter. Poor lad passed out at some point. I swabbed his nasal passages. Abby confirmed the presence of ammonium carbonate.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Smelling salts.
Donald Mallard: They revived him and then the torture continued. Yeah. This is the fatal blow. A single deep puncture wound. It breached the femoral artery. They put the poor lad out of his misery with a Phillips head screwdriver.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Torturer got what he needed.
Anthony DiNozzo: Boss. Found out who Fornell is going after.
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NCIS: Squad room
Timothy McGee: Rick Azari. 53 years old. Born in New York City. One of the most notorious criminals on the East Coast. He was a onetime protg to Colombian-American crime boss Alonzo Torres. After Torres was sent to prison by the FBI, Azari took over. He was 25 years old.
Anthony DiNozzo: Lot of funerals the year Azari took over.
Timothy McGee: And he ruled that way ever since. Tried for murder twice, walked both times.
Anthony DiNozzo: Now the FBI has another shot.
Ziva David: Azari's being charged for the murder of a drug dealer by the name of Randall Carlson. Kale was the only witness.
Anthony DiNozzo: No wonder Fornell's protecting him.
Ziva David: Azari goes down for murder if Kale testifies. If not...
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Azari walks. Again.
Timothy McGee: Boss, you're not gonna like this. Just got an e-mail from a friend at the US Marshal's office. The FBI has signed a deal with Kale.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: What kind of deal?
Timothy McGee: Immediately after the trial, Kale is going to be put into the Witness Protection Program... So even if he did murder Brewer, we'll never know.
Ziva David: Will be like he never existed.
Anthony DiNozzo: Just like Fornell wants it.
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Later
Anthony DiNozzo: Can't believe Fornell lied to Gibbs again.
Ziva David: Well, technically, he did not lie. He just simply withheld information.
Anthony DiNozzo: But why would one friend with hold information from another?
Ziva David: Maybe that friend felt it was the best thing for everyone.
Anthony DiNozzo: Best for everyone? Or best for herself?
Timothy McGee: Her?
Anthony DiNozzo: Or him. What are you doing, McProbie? You writing Fornell's eulogy?
Timothy McGee: I'm checking Kale's cell records.
Anthony DiNozzo: Why?
Timothy McGee: Because Gibbs is extremely pissed, and I think that he would want me to.
Ziva David: What are you doing?
Anthony DiNozzo: Whatever Gibbs would want me to get started on doing.
Ziva David: Agent Fornell.
Tobias Fornell: Gibbs?
Anthony DiNozzo: Upstairs. Conference room... Hi...Bye.
Timothy McGee: For a guy that's about to be handed his head...
Ziva David: He seems to have it firmly on his shoulders.
Anthony DiNozzo: Calm before the storm. Gibbs versus Fornell. It's like Frazier-Ali or Rocky versus... Everyone.
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NCIS: Conference room
Tobias Fornell: Haven't seen that look since I proposed to your ex-wife.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: You got something to tell me?
Tobias Fornell: Spare me the drama, Jethro. You know damn well I couldn't tell you about Kale's immunity, not without risking my witness.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Your witness may be a murderer.
Tobias Fornell: Kale was in our safe house at the time that Brewer was killed. I-I'm pretty sure we've already gone over this.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Who was babysitting him? You?
Tobias Fornell: My men. Come on, Jethro. Prints on an old toolbox? We both know you don't have a leg to stand on... And what's that?
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: A leg. Couple Marines in Kale's former unit saw Kale and Brewer arguing outside a bar last month.
Tobias Fornell: Two drunk Marines bumping chests... That's your case?
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: The argument was about a third Marine... A PFC Michael Strauss. Also in Kale's unit.
Tobias Fornell: You talk to him?
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Working on it. He's on a four-day leave.
Tobias Fornell: Oh, well.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: You got a medicated Marine with an anger-management problem and his prints at the murder scene.
Tobias Fornell: What is it you're hoping to find, Jethro?
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: The truth.
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NCIS: Squad room
Anthony DiNozzo: What are you McDoing, McGee?
Timothy McGee: Working on Kale's phone records.
Anthony DiNozzo: Thought you already McDid that.
Timothy McGee: I did, but as it turns out, all activity on Kale's cell phone suddenly stopped three weeks ago.
Ziva David: Well, that makes sense. That is when he was placed into protective custody.
Anthony DiNozzo: FBI probably gave him a clean phone. We would have.
Timothy McGee: Which is why I've been trying to breach the FBI's clean phone list. So far, I have had no luck.
Anthony DiNozzo: You ever heard of a good old-fashioned paper trail, McGoo? 'Cause that's what's on top of your head right now. I got Kale's phone records of the last four years. See that prefix right in front of your face? That is Boynton Beach, Florida, my friend... Boynton Beach... You know what they got there? Sun, sand, old people.
Timothy McGee: What is your point?
Anthony DiNozzo: Kale called the same number every Sunday morning for the past four years. What do you think that means?
Timothy McGee: His parents.
Anthony DiNozzo: That's right. Mother. According to his file, his only living relative.
Timothy McGee: You're right. I will run her phone records and see if there's been a new number calling.
Anthony DiNozzo: I like to get to the bottom of things. It's my specialty.
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NCIS: Conference room
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: I, um, I did a little research on Azari.
Tobias Fornell: School paper?
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: I found out you two go all the way back to your probie days. 25 years.
Tobias Fornell: 26... I knew Azari when he was only a kid, no more than a lackey. He was a wheel man for Alonzo Torres.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Until you brought Torres down.
Tobias Fornell: That bust gave me a career. Meanwhile, Azari quietly took over the reins. Killed at least five his first year. Probably a dozen more since.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: It's nature of the job. You cut one head off, another grows back.
Tobias Fornell: I could have had him. When I took down Torres, I could have easily made a deal to get Azari, but I-I underestimated him. I thought he was a harmless little punk.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: You made a mistake.
Tobias Fornell: No. Marrying your second wife was a mistake. This... Azari's long overdue, Jethro. I want this son of a bitch.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Yeah. Even if it means giving your key witness a free pass?
Tobias Fornell: Do me a favor, Jethro... Stop digging... I give my word Kale was not involved in Brewer's death.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Is that what you know, Tobias? Or is that what you want to believe?
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NCIS: Squad room
Timothy McGee: I got it! A new cell number's been calling Mama Kale the last three weeks.
Anthony DiNozzo: Okay, call the number back, trace it, and...
Timothy McGee: Done and done. It's registered to the FBI.
Ziva David: You have his call list?
Timothy McGee: Oh, I got something better. I got his location. According to the GPS in Kale's cell, he's not at the FBI safe house. He's in Arlington.
Tobias Fornell: The hell he is.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Put it up, McGee.
Tobias Fornell: Kale is where I put him. In our safe house. Safe. He is not in Arlington.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: That safe house on wheels, Tobias?
Tobias Fornell: What the hell is going on? Where's Kale?
Bruce River: In the bathroom.
Tobias Fornell: No, he's not. I am watching him!Check him.
Bruce River: He went out the window.
Tobias Fornell: Damn it!
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: McGee.
Timothy McGee: It stopped. 109 Kent Road.
Ziva David: PFC Strauss' apartment, Gibbs.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Let me know if he moves.
Anthony DiNozzo: It's probably best if we hang back.
Ziva David: Same thing I was thinking.
Timothy McGee: Couldn't agree more.
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Street
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Yeah?
Timothy McGee: Signal's still there.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Okay, got it. Signal hasn't moved. Kale's still here.
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Building: stairs
Tobias Fornell: Don't even say it.
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Building: hallway
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: What, through the bathroom window?
Tobias Fornell: You never lost a witness? Don't answer that... Kale! Stop!
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Building: rescue ladder
Tobias Fornell: Kale, what the hell are you doing?
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Street
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Don't move.
Tobias Fornell: I'm getting too old for this crap.
Jack Kale: I didn't do it.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs:You didn't do what?
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Strauss' appartement: living room
Jack Kale: In the bedroom.
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Strauss' appartement: bedroom
Anthony DiNozzo: Nothing like a good manicure, probie.
Ziva David: Tony... This was nothing like a good manicure.
Timothy McGee: Looks like he's pointing at something.
Anthony DiNozzo: Yeah, same thing everything else in this room is pointing at. That his good buddy, Kale, tortured and murdered him.
Ziva David: Why is Kale so intent on killing his friends?
Timothy McGee: Maybe the meds he was taking sent him into a psychotic rage.
Anthony DiNozzo: Or maybe his friends lied to him about a romantic attachment.
Donald Mallard: Hmm, torture appears to be the order of the day.
Anthony DiNozzo: Looking for these, Doctor?
Donald Mallard: Traumatic removal of the fingernails from the first, second and third digits of the left hand and the second and third of the right.
James Palmer: Oh, that is just wrong.
Donald Mallard: Yes. Well, in some countries, fingernail pulling is a routine interrogation technique.
Ziva David: Perhaps someone brought the technique home with them.
Donald Mallard: Yes, well, it's not what killed him. He has a fractured cervical vertebra.
James Palmer: Snapped his neck.
Donald Mallard: Which no doubt interrupted his central nervous system... Try to close his mouth.
James Palmer: Yeah, too much resistance.
Donald Mallard: First stages of rigor.
James Palmer: Smallest muscles first. Hands, feet, jaw.
Donald Mallard: Yes, it appears this Marine is trying to tell us something. But what?
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Building: hallway
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Are you still sure this guy was in your custody the night of Brewer's murder?
Tobias Fornell: I stand by the word of my men.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Maybe you should stand by the open bathroom window.
Tobias Fornell: Azari's trial begins tomorrow.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: That's a r-letter day.
Tobias Fornell: The whole case hinges on Kale's teimony.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: You can't have him, Tobias.
Tobias Fornell: You want Azari to walk?
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: What's the prosecution's closing argument? It takes one murderer to know another?
Anthony DiNozzo: Kale's not a murderer, boss. At least, he didn't kill Strauss. He couldn't have.
Donald Mallard: Strauss died at least four hours ago.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: That's one hour before Kale arrived at the apartment.
Tobias Fornell: I'm taking Kale.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: You can have him... After I interrogate him.
Anthony DiNozzo: Got that look, boss.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Take him in.
Anthony DiNozzo: Got it.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: And don't let him out of your sight.
Anthony DiNozzo: Told you to ice that baby... Here you go.
Tobias Fornell: What's that?
Anthony DiNozzo: My locksmith. He's really good with bathroom windows.
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Street
Stefano Delmar: Move. Now.
Rick Azarri: It's okay, Stefano. He's a Fed. Harmless. So, you one of Fornell's boys?
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Boys? NCIS... You won't have protection like this in prison.
Rick Azarri: So, what brings you down here, Mr. NCIS?
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Two dead Marines.
Rick Azarri: I'm sorry for your loss.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Yeah, you will be.
Rick Azarri: Must be frustrating, huh? I mean, a whole army of suits like you can't take down one guy like me.
Stefano Delmar: Back up.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Am I intimidating you?
Rick Azarri: No, only one guy's ever intimidated me. He's been in prison for 26 years.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Well, you're gonna see him soon.
Rick Azarri: What, this case? There is no case. I don't care what those witnesses saw. You got nothing.
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NCIS: Squad room
Anthony DiNozzo: Yeah, boss. The preliminary police report. I'm on it. Right, okay.
Timothy McGee: You lose something there, Tony?
Anthony DiNozzo: Just my ability to snoop around Ziva's desk without anyone noticing anything. Did she say anything specific to you about taking a trip to Tel Aviv?
Timothy McGee: Yeah.
Anthony DiNozzo: She did? So, what did she say?
Timothy McGee: That she's taking a trip to Tel Aviv.
Anthony DiNozzo: Thanks for bringing me up to speed. By the way, boss wants you to take a look at the preliminary police report of Azari's murder case.
Timothy McGee: The slaying of that drug dealer, Randall Carlson? Why can't we ask Fornell?
Anthony DiNozzo: Because the case didn't originate... With the FBI.
Timothy McGee: Local LEOs handled the preliminary investigation... Gibbs asked you to get that file, didn't he?
Anthony DiNozzo: Fine, McGee. I was trying to delegate, but if you're gonna be too lazy to take this responsibility, I guess I will do it myself, as soon as I finish doing what you're no longer seeing me do.
Timothy McGee: Okay. But you know Ziva will kill you if she finds out you're doing what I am no longer seeing you do.
Anthony DiNozzo: Then it's a good thing you're not seeing me do it.
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NCIS: Abby's lab
Anthony DiNozzo: Oh, hey, Abby-Normal.
Abigael Scuito: You got to see this.
Anthony DiNozzo: Um, I would love to, but listen, I'm kind of busy, and I...
Abigael Scuito: Look.
Anthony DiNozzo: Rope.
Abigael Scuito: Oh, it's not just any rope. It's moldy rope. And it's not just any moldy rope. This moldy rope that was used to tie up Strauss is the same moldy rope that was used to tie up Brewer. I'm sure of it. Major Mass Spec is still chewing on it, but I know he's gonna agree with me. I just have to identify the strain of mold.
Anthony DiNozzo: That's pretty interesting, Abby. Listen, I just have...
Abigael Scuito: I'm pretty sure that it's a relative of stachybotrys chartarum. I mean, relatively sure it's a relative, but you know how relatives can be. I mean, I still can't believe that my adorable little niece is related in any way to my stinky little brother.
Anthony DiNozzo: You need to put the mold on hold, give the rope a little slack. Boss wants us to take a look at the original crime involving Azari.
Abigael Scuito: The one Kale witnessed?
Anthony DiNozzo: The one Fornell is desperate to reel in.
Abigael Scuito: What are we looking for?
Anthony DiNozzo: I don't know.
Abigael Scuito: Phosphor?
Anthony DiNozzo: That's weird.
Abigael Scuito: Why would the dead drug dealer have phosphor on the soles of his shoes?
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NCIS: Interrogation room
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Why did you sneak away from the safe house to visit Strauss? Could have just called.
Jack Kale: I did... Didn't get an answer.
Tobias Fornell: Neither have we. Why did you go see him?
Jack Kale: I was worried.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Why?
Jack Kale: News of Brewer's death would have hit him pretty hard.
Tobias Fornell: They were tight?
Jack Kale: Like brothers.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: But you and Brewer were a different story.
Tobias Fornell: A couple of Marines overheard a violent argument between you two.
Jack Kale: It was nothing... Just a disagreement.
Tobias Fornell: About what?
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Money? Girls? Iraqi war policy?
Jack Kale: Drugs.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Buying or selling?
Jack Kale: Using... Strauss had a problem.
Tobias Fornell: Strauss? Then why fight with Brewer?
Jack Kale: I tried to keep the lid on Strauss when I was his squad leader. When I was retired, that job fell to Brewer.
Tobias Fornell: You thought he was dropping the ball.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: It's not easy walking away from your unit, is it, Sergeant?
Jack Kale: No, sir.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: You're still looking out for your men... Tell me what you saw the night Randall Carlson was murdered.
Tobias Fornell: Don't answer that. Excuse me.
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Tobias Fornell: This is an official interrogation.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: I'm aware of that, Tobias.
Tobias Fornell: Asking him about the Azari case is off-limits. If this guy's testimony doesn't match up word for word...
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Well, then, he better get it right.
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Leroy Jethro Gibbs: What did you see the night of the murder, Sergeant?
Jack Kale: I was walking out of the Red Arrow Diner, walking west on High Street...
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NCIS: garage
Anthony DiNozzo: Where Randall Carlson, scum-sucking drug dealer, is parked down the street. Probie, sit. Under that street lamp.
Timothy McGee: Why do I have to be the lowlife, scum-sucking drug dealer?
Anthony DiNozzo: If the shoe containing phosphor fits...
Ziva David: Then a car containing Azari and an associate pulled onto Atchison.
Anthony DiNozzo: Whoa, my ninja. I'm Azari.
Ziva David: Why you?
Anthony DiNozzo: Azari's got swagger, flair, panache.
Ziva David: But I'm the assassin.
Anthony DiNozzo: Style over substance... Thank you. That's very understanding.
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NCIS: Interrogation room
Jack Kale: The Beemer pulled up to a late-model Caddy. Azari got out. The other guy got out of his car.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Carlson.
Jack Kale: Yeah. Azari approaches him. Says a couple of words, makes a couple of gestures. A moment later, Azari pulls out a gun.
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NCIS: garage
Anthony DiNozzo: Bam! Bam! Bam! Azari unloads his pistol into Carlson.
Ziva David: Then Kale saw it all from here.
Timothy McGee: No, back, far corner.
Ziva David: Good view.
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NCIS: Interrogation room
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: What else did you see?
Jack Kale: I saw that lowlife take another life without even batting an eye. Isn't that enough?
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: You feel so strongly about it, why did you wait until morning to report it?
Jack Kale: I was scared.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Decorated Marine. Three tours in Iraq. Battled Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan before that, and you were scared?
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NCIS: garage
Timothy McGee: You're 30 feet away. Assuming a two-to-one scale...
Ziva David: Then Kale positively identified Azari from 60 feet away.
Anthony DiNozzo: Assuming he had 20/20 vision, it's possible.
Abigael Scuito: Not possible. It is anything but possible. It is impossible, which is what not possible means.
Anthony DiNozzo: Abby.
Abigael Scuito: Kale would have had to have had more than 20/20 vision to identify Azari. He would have needed night vision... The phosphor on Carlson's shoes was from a broken streetlight.
Timothy McGee: You could have just turned it off, Abby.
Abigael Scuito: Yeah. Sorry.
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NCIS: Interrogation room
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: A punk like Azari shows you a handgun, and all of a sudden, you turn into a coward? Yeah, you weren't scared. You were protecting someone. Who were you protecting, Sergeant?
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NCIS: garage
Anthony DiNozzo: Are you sure the streetlight was busted?
Abigael Scuito: I confirmed it with the City Street and Sanitation Department.
Ziva David: There is no way Kale could have seen anything. Unless he was much closer.
Timothy McGee: Much, much closer.
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NCIS: Interrogation room
Tobias Fornell: Damn you, Kale. Tell him what you saw.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: The truth, Marine.
Jack Kale: Started with Strauss. He went to score some coke. Brewer went with him, but it was just to stop him... All these guys wanted to do was deploy to Iraq. To back up their buddies. They would've been court-martialed if they were linked to a coke deal. They lived to be Marines! You know what that's like!
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: You weren't there.
Jack Kale: If they said they saw it, then they saw it.
Tobias Fornell: You lied. You weren't there.
Jack Kale: I was protecting my men!
Tobias Fornell: Protecting? That's some protection, Sergeant! Your men are both dead, and you just set their killer free!
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NCIS: hallway
Tobias Fornell: I understand. Yes, sir. Get him back to the safe house, Rivers.
Bruce Rivers: Yes, sir.
Tobias Fornell: He's promoting me to head monkey.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Kale.
Bruce Rivers: Come on, Kale. Let's go.
Tobias Fornell: Director wants him on ice.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Case isn't about him. It's about Azari.
Tobias Fornell: What case?
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Are you quitting?
Tobias Fornell: Sometimes it's good to know when you're beaten.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: What do you want me to say, Tobias? You made a mistake. It's not the first. It certainly won't be the last... Forget about it. What's next?
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NCIS: Abby's lab
Abigael Scuito: Okay, McGee, what do you see?
Timothy McGee: Crunch Berries cereal.
Abigael Scuito: Okay, now what do you see?
Timothy McGee: French vanilla ice cream with chocolate sprinkles.
Abigael Scuito: Interesting. All right, how about now? Come on, McGee, say it. We're grownups... Sex. Say it.
Timothy McGee: Sex.
Abigael Scuito: Mold sex. I mean, it's practically mold porn.
Timothy McGee: Why are you showing me mold porn?
Abigael Scuito: Because this stachybotrys chartarum was on... The rope. The same rope that was used to kill two Marines in the past two days. Particularly when you consider just how rare this mold is. It's okay, McGee. It's deadly, but it's sealed... Now all I have to do is match it... McGee! Give the guys a little privacy.
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NCIS: Squad room
Ziva David: Azari has three witnesses that put him in the park playing horseshoes at the time of Strauss' murder.
Anthony DiNozzo: I got four at a bar playing darts with Azari at the time Brewer was ceiling surfing.
Tobias Fornell: Seven witnesses.
Anthony DiNozzo: All bought and paid for.
Tobias Fornell: He doesn't need to buy anybody. Gets what he wants through intimidation.
Ziva David: They found Kale's FBI guard unconscious in the garage. His gun and his car are missing.
Tobias Fornell: You got to be kidding me!
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: DiNozzo.
Anthony DiNozzo: Contacting Base Security. Putting the yard on full lockdown.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Ziva.
Ziva David: Security breach at gate six. FBI car just rammed through the barrier.
Tobias Fornell: How the hell did he get off a military base?
Anthony DiNozzo: Ask Rivers when he wakes up. Base Security's designed to keep people out, not in.
Tobias Fornell: You mean like a bathroom window, DiNozzo?
Anthony DiNozzo: Putting a BOLO out on the car, boss.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Don't need a BOLO.
Anthony DiNozzo: We don't need a BOLO.
Tobias Fornell: Get units over to the courthouse.
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Street
Cindy Ames: He has eluded prosecution from two previous murder cases. No sign yet of the high-priced defense team, but we are still awaiting the arrival of Rick Azari. There are more whispers of mistrial from sources close to the proceedings...
Tobias Fornell: I don't see Kale.
Cindy Ames: Which could mean this is Azari's lucky day.
Tobias Fornell: Or his last.
Cindy Ames: While Azari is actually most known for his alleged participation in the expanding cocaine trade on the East Coast, this trial is about murder.
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Street / NCIS: Abby's lab
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Yeah. Gibbs.
Abigael Scuito: Gibbs, you're not gonna believe this.
Timothy McGee: Azari filed a lawsuit against the contractor who built his house in Virginia Beach.
Abigael Scuito: Guess why.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Mold problem.
Timothy McGee: An independent lab ran tests for the lawsuit.
Abigael Scuito: The rare mold found in Azari's basement... It matches the moldy rope used in both murders.
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Street
Cindy Ames: This trial for the murder of Randall Carlson has been pending for weeks. He was a Virginia resident with two...
Tobias Fornell: Gibbs, there's Azari.
Cindy Ames: For the sale and distribution of narcotics. He was killed in a late-night... Quick! George!
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Rick Azari: Better get out of here by 500. Got reservations at The Palm.
Jack Kale: Azari! You killed my men.
Pedestrian 1: He has a gun!
Pedestrian 2: Hurry up, man.
Rick Azari: Don't bother, Stefano. If he had the balls to pull the trigger, I'd already be dead.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Kale! No!
Tobias Fornell: Put your weapon down, Jack.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Listen to him.
Jack Kale: Son of a bitch killed my men.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: We know that. We got evidence to prove it.
Tobias Fornell: He'll pay. Not like this.
Rick Azari: Come on. Don't get the kid's hopes up, Toby. You and I both know how this is gonna end.
Jack Kale: He's right. He's gonna walk.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Trust us, Sergeant.
Rick Azari: Yeah, trust them, Sarge. They got a great track record.
Tobias Fornell: Yeah, keep going, and get yourself killed.
Rick Azari: By who? Him? He came here to honor his men, right? Then have you talk him down.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Put your hands behind your back.
Jack Kale: I did it for Brewer and Strauss, sir.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Yeah, I know why you did it.
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NCIS: Squad room
Cindy Ames: It was here in front of the US District Courthouse that Rick Azari, the alleged crime boss, was shot and killed yesterday. It was just moments before his murder trial was about to...
Anthony DiNozzo: Picked a hell of a time to leave.
Ziva David: I will make it up to you.
Anthony DiNozzo: Almost forgot. It's a long flight to Tel Aviv. If you want, you can borrow this thing. You know... Helps you sleep on the plane.
Ziva David: I am flying first class.
Anthony DiNozzo: Never mind... Nesi'a tova.
Ziva David: See you next week.
Anthony DiNozzo: Yeah.
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FBI: Waiting room
Cindy Ames: Retired Marine Sergeant Jack Kale shot Mr. Azari in broad daylight and in front of our cameras. Azari and his defense team had just arrived at the courthouse when Kale approached, gun in hand. A gun we understand...
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: You didn't take the shot.
Tobias Fornell: Was too quick for me. Director want to see you, too?
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Yeah. I invited myself... Ah, you'd do the same.
Tobias Fornell: She said you'd be here.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Who?
Tobias Fornell: Our ex-wife. What are you going to tell him?
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Whatever he needs to hear.
P.A.: Agent Fornell, the director will see you now.
Tobias Fornell: Thanks... I should have seen it. Kale. Too much detail about the wrong things. Too much left out about the right things. Maybe I just didn't want to know.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: You gonna tell your boss that?
Tobias Fornell: I got a kid looking at a life sentence. The director's gonna want to know why.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Yeah, Kale made his decision, Tobias. Now he's got to live with it.
Tobias Fornell: We all will.
Cindy Ames: A power struggle is already underway among those eager to fill Azari's shoes. Two of Azari's lieutenants were gunned down in Southeast DC late last night. Underworld sources believe that Azari's former bodyguard, 28-year-old Stefano DelMar, has already emerged as Azari's heir apparent.
